Paris in one day on foot: a walking itinerary

This Paris one day walking itinerary follows the Seine downstream, east to west. It starts at Notre-Dame soon after the doors open, takes in the stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle, crosses the Pont Neuf to the Louvre, then has lunch at Angelina on the rue de Rivoli. The afternoon runs through the Tuileries and across Place de la Concorde and the Pont Alexandre III, and the day ends at the Eiffel Tower with dinner a few streets away. That's ten stops with two paid tickets, three if you go up the tower.

I built the day in Passage AI for Thursday 22 October 2026, with every hour, price and booking rule checked against the official sites. Where a site didn't say, I wrote "check before you go".

Last checked: Oct 2026. Hours and prices change. Open the linked official page before you go.

The Paris one day walking itinerary at a glance

Walk minutes are Passage AI's straight-line estimates between stops.

That's 69 minutes of walking between stops by the app's count. The longest leg, 19 minutes from the Pont Alexandre III to the tower, runs along the Left Bank of the river.

Stop by stop

1. Notre-Dame de Paris, 8:00

The cathedral reopened in December 2024, five years after the fire, and entry is free every day. The official site lists weekday hours of 7:50 to 19:00 (to 22:00 on Thursdays) and 8:15 to 19:30 at weekends, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. I read those hours from a July 2026 copy of the page because the live site blocked my checks, so check before you go. (official hours)

You can reserve a free time slot, but you don't have to. Slots open only a few hours ahead, so you can't book days in advance, and without one you may wait longer. (free reservation) At 8:00 you arrive ten minutes after the doors open. It's a working church: the site asks visitors to cover shoulders and thighs, and men to take off hats.

2. Sainte-Chapelle, 9:15

Louis IX built this royal chapel between 1238 and 1248 to hold the relics he had bought, the Crown of Thorns among them. The upper chapel is almost all stained glass. It's a few minutes' walk from Notre-Dame, inside the Palais de Justice, so everyone goes through strict security checks first.

From 1 October to 31 March it opens 9:00 to 17:00, with last access 30 minutes before closing. Since 12 January 2026 a ticket costs €22 if you're not from the European Economic Area and €16 if you are, and under-18s go free. A combined ticket with the Conciergerie next door costs €30 (€23 for EEA visitors). The chapel "strongly" recommends paying in advance and asks you to arrive at your booked time, not before. (official practical information)

3. Pont Neuf, 10:30

Despite the name ("new bridge"), this is the oldest standing bridge across the Seine in Paris. It crosses the western tip of the Île de la Cité, so from Sainte-Chapelle you walk to the end of the island and over to the Right Bank. The bridge is public and free.

4. The Louvre, 11:00

On Thursdays the Louvre opens 9:00 to 18:00. It stays open to 21:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays and is closed on Tuesdays. Last entry is an hour before closing. Since January 2026 a ticket costs €32 for visitors from outside the European Economic Area and €22 for EEA residents, and under-18s go free. (official hours and prices)

The museum says time-slot bookings are "recommended, including for free-admission visitors", and tickets are sold on site only "when museum attendance is low". Book on the official ticket site, because the Louvre warns about mirror sites selling fake queue-jump tickets. Leaving the building ends your visit, so plan the rooms you want before you go in. I gave it two and a half hours, which covers a short list of rooms.

When you reach a stop, Passage AI's Guide opens a card for it with a story about the place. Tap Listen to hear it read aloud.

5. Lunch at Angelina, 13:30

The tea room at 226 rue de Rivoli faces the Tuileries, a few minutes from the Louvre. Its own site says it's best known for hot chocolate and the Mont-Blanc, a chestnut-cream pastry, and it serves breakfast and brunch through the day. It opens every day: 8:00 to 19:30 Monday to Thursday and 8:00 to 20:00 Friday to Sunday. (official page)

6. Jardin des Tuileries, 15:00

Cross the road into the garden and walk west down the central alley towards Concorde. In October the gates are open 7:30 to 19:30, and entry is free. Free public toilets are near the Concorde and rue de Rivoli entrances. (official hours, Tuileries tab)

7. Place de la Concorde, 15:30

The square at the end of the Tuileries holds the Luxor Obelisk, over 3,000 years old and a gift from Egypt in the 1830s. Traffic circles it, so cross at the lights. Look up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, then turn left towards the river.

8. Pont Alexandre III, 16:15

The most ornate bridge in Paris, with gilded statues on its four corner pillars. Walk across to the Left Bank. The dome of Les Invalides sits straight ahead, and the Eiffel Tower is to your right along the river.

9. The Eiffel Tower, 17:15

The official calendar shows the tower open 9:30 to 23:00 through mid-October, with last ascents at 22:45. Check your own date on the calendar before you go. Adult tickets cost €23.50 to the second floor by lift, €36.70 to the top by lift, €14.80 to the second floor on the stairs, and €28.00 for stairs to the second floor plus the lift to the top. Tickets to the top are sold online and on site at official rates, and the tower warns that fake ticket sites show up in search results. (official rates and hours)

You don't need a ticket to stand under it. If you go up, book a time and give it a couple of hours.

10. Dinner at Les Cocottes, 19:30

A bistro on rue Saint-Dominique a few streets from the tower. It's open every day and recommends reservations. Its dish of the week for Thursdays is blanquette de veau, and the four-course Menu des Cocottes costs €45 at lunch and dinner. The site doesn't list opening hours, so confirm the time when you book. (official site)

How I built it in Passage AI

I started a one-day Paris trip for Thursday 22 October, added the ten stops with Add a stop, and gave each one a time. Search covers places worldwide, so read the address line under each result before you tap it: "Sainte-Chapelle" also matches the Sainte-Chapelle in Vincennes. The restaurants sit under the Eat tab.

The times follow the opening hours. Sainte-Chapelle closes at 17:00 in October, with last access at 16:30, so it takes the morning slot after Notre-Dame. The Eiffel Tower stays open late, so it closes the sightseeing day, with dinner a few streets away.

Optimize can reorder a day to cut walking. Its preview lists every change, with each moved stop's old position, and nothing saves until you press Apply.

On the day, the Guide tab opens each stop in turn. Directions hands the walk to your phone's maps app for the street route. Saved plans also open offline.

What to book ahead

Notre-Dame, the Pont Neuf, the Tuileries, Concorde and the Pont Alexandre III are free and walk-in. Book three things: Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre and dinner. Add the Eiffel Tower if you're going up.

Passage AI's Need tickets? scan checks a whole trip for stops worth booking ahead, each with a link to the official site or a ticket search. This table comes straight from the official sites. Buy only from the official ticket pages: the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower both warn about fake ticket sites that show up in search results.

What to skip or swap

• Short on time or budget? Skip the Eiffel Tower ticket. Seeing it from the Pont Alexandre III and the riverbank costs nothing, and that frees the evening.
• Prefer Impressionists to the Louvre? Swap in the Musée d'Orsay, across the river from the Tuileries on the Left Bank. Its site blocked my checks, so look up hours and prices on the official site and book through its official ticketing.
• Want the Conciergerie too? It shares a building with Sainte-Chapelle, and the combined ticket costs €30 (€23 for EEA visitors). Add about an hour.
• Avoid Tuesdays for this route: the Louvre is closed. Wednesday and Friday give you the Louvre until 21:00 if you'd rather visit it in the evening.

FAQ

Can you see Paris in one day on foot?

You can see the centre along the Seine in one day: Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre, the Tuileries, Concorde and the Eiffel Tower are all on one line from east to west. You won't see much of the Louvre in two and a half hours, and Montmartre and the Marais need another day.

Do you need to book the Louvre in advance?

The Louvre recommends booking a time slot, even if you get in free, and sells tickets on site only when attendance is low. A ticket costs €32 for visitors from outside the European Economic Area and €22 for EEA residents (Oct 2026). Book on ticket.louvre.fr.

Is Notre-Dame free to visit?

Yes. Entry to the cathedral is free every day. You can reserve a free time slot a few hours ahead to cut the wait, but it's optional.

Do I need to book Sainte-Chapelle?

The chapel "strongly" recommends paying in advance, and you must keep to your time slot. Tickets cost €22, or €16 for EEA residents, and under-18s go free. Expect security checks, because it's inside the Palais de Justice.

What day of the week is best for this walk?

Any day but Tuesday, when the Louvre is closed. I planned a Thursday. On Wednesdays and Fridays the Louvre stays open until 21:00.

How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 10 October 2026, facts checked against the official sites of Notre-Dame de Paris, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre (including the Tuileries Garden), the Eiffel Tower, Angelina and Les Cocottes, written by Edward.

Cover photo: Getfunky Paris on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0, cropped)